Missouri Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill says Arizona Senator John McCain skipped a top-secret Senate briefing on the Benghazi attack to hold a news conference on—Benghazi.
In an interview with KMBC TV, McCaskill says she and McCain sit on the Senate Homeland Security Committee.McCaskill says the Committee had a closed-door Benghazi briefing Wednesday morning, given by the Department of Defense, the Department of State and other intelligence agencies. McCaskill says McCain, however, was not at the meeting.
She says he was at another part of the Capitol giving a news conference. McCain says the Congress needs a special Select Committee to investigate what happened when the Benghazi consulate was attacked and the US Ambassador to Libya and three others were killed.
McCain’s staff told KMBC today his absence was due to “a scheduling error”.
Thursday, CNN reported McCain became irritated with a reporter who asked by he was not at the Homeland Security Committee hearing.
“When CNN approached McCain in a Capitol hallway Thursday morning, the senator refused to comment about why he missed the briefing, which was conducted by top diplomatic, military and counter-terrorism officials. Instead, McCain got testy when pressed to say why he wasn’t there.
“I have no comment about my schedule and I’m not going to comment on how I spend my time to the media,” McCain said.
Asked why he wouldn’t comment, McCain grew agitated: “Because I have the right as a senator to have no comment and who the hell are you to tell me I can or not?”
When CNN noted that McCain had missed a key meeting on a subject the senator has been intensely upset about, McCain said, “I’m upset that you keep badgering me.”
McCaskill says only two Republican Senators were at the entire secret briefing.
McCaskill opposes McCain plan for a Select Benghazi Committee. She thinks existing Congressional Committees can ask the same questionsKansas Senator Jerry Moran’s staff says Moran arrived late to the Homeland Security session.Moran is also a member of the Homeland Security panel.
He was in the Republican Caucus leadership meeting.
Moran was elected to lead the Republican Senate Campaign Committee for the next two years. His office says that leadership election process ran overtime.